"NEW YORK - A New Jersey man trying to exterminate insects in his apartment blew it up instead, the New York Daily News reported on Monday.
Isias Vidal Maceda was unhurt in the incident, but 80 percent of his apartment was destroyed, Eatontown, New Jersey police told the newspaper.
The accident occurred as Maceda was spraying for pests in his kitchen. Somehow the bug spray ignited a blast that blew out the apartment's front windows and triggered a fire that quickly spread, the newspaper said. Police told the newspaper that the Saturday blaze also caused smoke damage to the apartment above.

Anybody else feel like this happens to us in our Christian Walk? There are times that I mean so well and have the best intentions...yet fail so miserably. There are times that I blow it so hugely (literally for this guy) at something that I have been/am working so hard at. And like this story...sometimes if effects other people. Just thinking out loud here."

This rings of reality in such a huge way.  You think you're doing something really nice...getting rid of bugs...so that not only is your home clean, but the bugs won't go into your neighbors houses either. 

And then your house explodes.  And all your neighbors' windows explode.  And everyone is standing on their porches, looking at you with their hands on their hips saying, "What on earth were you thinking?  I didn't even ask you to get rid of the bugs for me, and now my windows are blown.  Why don't you go be useful somewhere else!"

So what do you do.  Move out of town, or rebuild the house?


(found this in another blog, just commenting on it)

It was a smile I remembered,
but so long ago
I can hardly count the stars
as much as count the hours.

The smile which I remembered
was so friendly and warm.
It was the sun in the breeze,
it was the spring in the prize.

The smile I remember
was larger than life,
and as timeless
as the sea.

Yet, the smiler lost the smile,
and will no longer
smile for me.

We looked for the fallen
branches, to hold together
our home made kite;

Far too many will pass
crooked branches, strewn
about in the wind-swept streets -

Looking for the perfect branch,
the perfect kite.

Little do they know,
any stick will do -

And any kite will fly,
given wind.

So, today is our first day of summer vacation!  What to do, what to do.

Firstly, I keep getting these urges to do something incredible.  Considering we are trying to bulk up our reserves again (buying a house kind of blows that), Maui is out of the question.  So here are my constructive ideas for myself:

1. Start painting rooms.  I have the paint for Conrad's room already, so we need to get on that pronto.  Especially because we promised Nova a pink room (well, she gets 2 pink walls, and Glenn gets 2 blue walls) a year ago...and we kind of need to get that going as well.  I also have lots of ideas for the house in general.  Like, the wall next to the front door has dots for the heights of our family.  I want to do something with that.

2. Recreate gardens.  Our front yard needs serious workage.  Backyard is doing better.  At least there's grass and a vegetable garden going.

3. Start sanding this ginormous china hutch I got from someone.  I was planning on sanding it, staining it and selling it...and I'm pretty darn sure Ben would LOVE to get it out of the garage (it's huge).

4. Tear down school in the library. 

5. Fold laundry.  I'm hoping to get this done today.  But it is on my serious "get it all done" list.

6. Curtain rods.  We just never got around to that, and I couldn't do it myself because I was pretty pregnant/huge, and standing on chairs kept getting me in trouble with people.

Plus we have 2 Vacation Bible Schools, 1 more swim lesson next month, and drawing classes in August.  Summer is going to fly by if we let it...

This is usually an easy concept to understand, and easier to remind others; but when you have malice, envy, strife or bitterness in your heart...sometimes it feels good to amend "my path" to "but my path could be/could have been this."  We not only second guess ourselves, but we're second guessing the path that God has laid out for us. 

So I thought I'd eBible "path":

Proverbs 3:

5Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;

6in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight

Psalm 119
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path.

Psalm 16

5LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup;
you have made my lot secure.

6The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.

7I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;
even at night my heart instructs me.

8I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

9Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,

10because you will not abandon me to the grave,[2]
nor will you let your Holy OneOr your faithful one see decay.

http://www.mountainwalk.co.uk/sc%20path.jpg

The Forest Path
http://www.desktopscenes.com/Autumn%20Scenes%20from%20Southern%20Vermont%20(2003)/Rocky%20Forest%20Path.jpg

The Clear Path
http://imagecache.allposters.com/images/pic/ARTPUB/42-16592848_24_36~Forest-Path-Posters.jpg

The Extremely Unclear but Beautiful Path
http://www.naturaltapestries.com/nancyportfolio/flowers/images/Texas%20Wildflower%20Field.jpg

The Extremely Unclear and Scary Path
http://hikethewhites.com/baxter/c03.jpg

The Grand Path of Visions
http://www.uvm.edu/~shali/card_10.jpg

And finally
The Path of Folly
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_up5KYlMU_XQ/RlADQr-NAVI/AAAAAAAAA4E/EFQsaTwzK3Q/s640/cliff2.JPG


Okay, I have to get to packing (kind of getting side tracked with this)

Nothing will get you off your butt and cleaning your house like a mad fool
Like scheduling a carpet cleaner to come the next morning between 10-1.

(really, what was I thinking)

"An unlikely pair, these two have made in your mind," I'm sure Yoda once said.  Ah, you would think this until the dark, ugly truth stick hits you; and then the blinding light of pain reveals all that is true.  It's like waking up from a bad hangover from Vons brand vodak.  You know what I'm talking about.

So last night after we got the kids home from swim lessons, asleep, pizza ordered (I didn't have any, naturally.  I had a bowl of mixed veggies and some leftover pork.  I'm old.), and Ben brought home some Smithwicks for me, we put on Fanboys.  It was going to RULE.

It started off a little slow.  Character set up, who was who, where they were in life (i.e., who was Vader, who was StormTroopers, who was the schmuck car salesman sell-out).  They did a much better job at finding guys to play nerds than most movies do, I'll say that.  Most nerds in film are akin to Anthony Edwards (or, Gilbert).  He is just way too nice looking to be a real nerd.  "High Fidelity" also did a pretty good job of finding a cast close to the self-righteous protagonists who work at indy-record stores.  Some have greasy hair, some have no nair, some have way too much hair.  Some are stick thin, some are eating in preparation of the end of the world.  They each have their schtick which they claim as their identity, and their identity is their most prized possession.  The guy with the van in the movie loved Rush.  Rush all the time.  He was also the sexually charged nerd with the love-van, albeit no love.  This is all normal for his character: even though the final result (i.e., a female in the van) does not exist quite yet, his identity as the love-god is already in place, and the lack of a female does not deter nor hinder his identity as this form.  This is what being a nerd and geek is: consistent to the DEATH.  

Because what a lot of people don't realize is how self-assured nerds and geeks really are.  They aren't fragile plants happy for any social interaction.  Nay, they are confident that their superior knowledge of the back-history of the creation of Romulan culture propels them above the leagues of common man.  Will they kick a Trekkie out of a Star Wars comic store?  Maybe.  If anything, they will instigate an uprising of debates the likes of which you have never seen.

 Because that's what they do: their plan of attack is information and knowledge, and they will throttle you with every detail they know.  He who knows the most remote, obscure detail, wins.  And winning is the goal in every interaction, which may be why interacting with women is so foreign to them.  You can't "win" with a woman.  We are mysterious, confusing and most of us are emotional.  Instead of attacking the conversation with a Bat'leth, the common nerd will have to learn to direct the discussion with something along the lines of a butter knife.  This concept is unknown to Klingons (just fyi), and it takes a while to sink in.

(I think it's clear by the number of StarWars vs Star Trek references, which party I side with by now...)

So, how does this all relate to my perception of Fanboys and Napolean Dynomite? 
I am never going to watch either of them again.

But WHY??  Clearly I identified with both of them to some degree, right??

Okay, here’s the deal: Fanboys was far too realistic to watch again.  It was awkward and  oddly well done.  Napolean Dynomite was WAAYY too realistic for me.  How, you ask?  You know the girl, the one with the long brown hair pulled to the side and her kit-and-kaboodle full of beads and crafts?  You know who she looks like...?  Me.  That was me.  I had that case, and I moved on with my life.  I don’t need to relive it.  And I don’t need to illustrate her counterpart, the tall, lanky white man with curly light brown hair.  It’s just awkward for us to watch.  Neither of us enjoyed it. 

So that’s my review of Fanboys and Napolean Dynomite.  They’re both extremely realistic nuggets of hidden depths of my inner psyche, and I’d rather not go there again.  Blech.

I need a serious overhaul of my mind.  I'm so familiar with my ruts, I recognize them before they even get here. 

So this is what I'm going to do: find things to fill my poor head that doesn't consist of this silly loop.  I'm annoyed with myself over this.

Ephesians 4:

25Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body.26“In your anger do not sin” (this was key, because it is okay to be angry.  For some of us, it's pretty normal.  But we cannot sin in our anger.  This one verse has gotten me out of a lot of potential damage): Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry,27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. (i.e., stop wallowing in sorrow and anger, but get on your feet and be productive.  Go do something to bless someone else)

29Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.30And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

32Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.



Those are some pretty good words of advice.

Galatians 6:

7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows .8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

You know what I get from this more than anything: it is good to have a cause, but do not wear yourself out for the cause, otherwise you're going to be a cause yourself.  I can get overwhelmed thinking of good things to do, doing good things, and feeling guilty because I'm not doing enough good things.  But it very clearly states, "as we have the opportunity."  To which I refer to the scene with Mary and Martha:

Martha was bothered that Mary wasn't cleaning and hosting as well as she was, and was instead enjoying the company of Jesus.  Jesus' rebuke was this very claim, that the opportunity to clean and host was not now and Mary was in the correct position.  Why don't you take a load off Martha, chill a bit?

There are so many commercials of children in need in other countries, homeless people with signs on the corners, homeless shelters in town, families in need, churches in need, etc etc etc.  You can get seriously overburdened with burdens, because in light of everything: you have burdens of your own to attend, as well.  So what do you do:

Take a deep breath....prioritize things realistically....start with one thing, and keep going.  Don't overwhelm yourself with causes.  Don't ignore them either, but there is a difference between swimming a channel, and treading water in a stagnant pond.  You're going through similar motions in a similar environment, but you're actually getting somewhere in one.

So today I'm going to find my bathing suit.